Prep Rally

Muslim soccer player wins fans competing while fully covered

Soccer is a game of individual expression. While other sports require discipline and a rigorous commitment to procedure, soccer blends that commitment with the constant need to create and innovate, providing the opportunity for players to truly express different facets of their personalities.

That's the case with Cottonwood (Utah) High junior varsity girls soccer starter Serene Kergaye, too, but she tends to get noticed for a very different reason: Her unique uniform.

"It's really thin and loose. It's not that hot, I don't think," Kergaye told the Deseret News. "Yeah, I look kind of weird on the field. I'll be dressed head to toe in one color, because we have to be either white or black, but oh well, I'd rather play."

Kergaye has stuck with her religious faith through thick and thin on the field. During Ramadan, the teenager fasted throughout daylight hours, including her after-school soccer practices and games. Still, her coach insisted that she never let the lack of food hinder her performance or her commitment to the team.

In fact, she helped build team unity by joking about her own inability to eat like her teammates.

"She would come every day, and she would say stuff like, 'I'm so excited for when I can eat again, because I'm going to take on all of you guys. I'm going to take you down!" recounted teammate Ali Bromley-Dulfano.

Because religion is an important part of Kergaye's personality, no one on the Cottonwood sideline would want her to not wear her religious garb. The player Cottonwood coach Angela Hamilton calls "just a very sweet person," is happy she can be so comfortable with her teammates, all while making opposing defenses as uncomfortable as possible on the field.